Reading and Fibrecrafts

It’s not yours, it’s mine

Sammie was a friendly and very affectionate kitten when we first got her. After a couple of bad experiences though, she got quite wary of us. First she had to have eye drops, which she really hated. We had to wrap her in a towel to do them, and it was a struggle even with that. Then she was spayed and had to wear a protective cone round her neck. She was still managing to lick the wound, so she had to go back to the vet to get a larger cone. Once that was on, she couldn’t reach to wash herself and she hated that. What made it worse was that she was having ear drops and she’d shake her head after we applied them. Then it would go all over the inside of the cone and onto her fur. We tried to help by washing her head with a damp flannel, but I’m not sure she appreciated that. It’s hard when you can’t let them know that you’re just trying to help.

So, after all that, she no longer came to sit beside me, let alone on my lap. She didn’t want to be picked up and the only time she’d have a cuddle was if I was in bed, lying down. I guess she didn’t feel so wary then.

Since we got Frodo, she’s been a bit put out. She sees him having cuddles, sleeping on my lap, and being picked up. I don’t know if she sees that and realises that there’s no need to be wary, or if she’s simply jealous, but for the past few weeks now, she’s become a lot more affectionate. She’s almost back to her old self.

She’s been demanding to be picked up, and once she took a flying leap at Stephen to get on his shoulders after seeing Frodo sitting up there a few minutes before. She’s sat on my lap a couple of times, for a minute or two, but a couple of days ago she came to me for longer. We’re taking every opportunity to give her as many cuddles as she wants in the hope that she’ll see that Frodo is not a threat to her.

I had to laugh a few days ago. Frodo had been on Stephen’s lap for a while and when Stephen got up, he arranged the blanket for Frodo to lie on instead.

After a while, Frodo got off the blanket and went for a snack, and like a flash, Sammie was on there.

She doesn’t normally sit on the sofa, but it was as if she was taking possession of something that was Frodo’s.

2 thoughts on “It’s not yours, it’s mine”

having always had several cats (as many as 5 together at one time and now down to 2) I can say that the dynamics frequently change and it’s nothing to do with what you did or didn’t do. Our cats will sometimes spend weeks where they sleep together and then others when they avoid each other.